Election live: Postal vote delay uproar as Labour hits back at ‘supermajority’ claims

As the general election campaign comes to an end, parties are sharpening their key messages in the hopes of convincing the last few undecided voters before 4 July.

• Rishi Sunak will be speaking from Oxfordshire where he will urge wavering Tory voters to stick with his party to ensure a swing away from a Labour “supermajority”.

• Sir Keir Starmer is expected to spend one of the final days on the campaign trail making multiple visits across England. The Labour will then head to London to deliver a speech tonight.

• Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will be in the south west revisiting one of the party’s key priorities: ending the “sewage scandal”.

• First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney is set to visit a distillery as he calls on Scotland to reject Westminster austerity cuts from the next Labour government.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has echoed Rishi Sunak’s claim that just 130,000 voters could prevent a Labour landslide.

She told LBC Radio: “It’s never over till it’s over. What I would say is that lots of people, if they look at the press, they might think the election is a foregone conclusion.

“Actually, it’s a relatively small amount of voters across the country – about 130,000 people have been estimated – who can make the difference in this election.”

Asked by presenter Nick Ferrari whether those voters could bring about a Tory victory, she said: “There’s quite a lot of seats that are very, very marginal, Nick. So, actually, just a handful of voters in those seats can change the outcome in those seats.”

It is “unrealistic” of Sir Keir Starmer to aim to finish working at 6pm on Fridays, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has said.

She told LBC Radio: “I do think that it’s pretty unrealistic for a prime minister not to work past 6pm.

“I also think it’s a bit odd because they’re also saying they want to make people in the NHS work overtime and at weekends, so I think to do that on one hand, and on the other hand say that you’re not going to work past 6pm is a bit tin-eared.

“Like I said, I haven’t really seen what he was driving at, but I think he’s going to get a shock if he goes into government and thinks that he doesn’t have to work past 6pm.”

Wes Streeting has accused the Conservatives of “lying about Labour” and “slinging mud” ahead of polling day.

It comes as the Tories insistently warned voters against a Labour “supermajority” in Westminster.

Responding to criticism, Wes Streeting said there was “so much potential” under a potential Sir Keir Starmer leadership.

The shadow health secretary told BBC Breakfast: “You’ve mentioned this morning the two leaders setting out their visions for Britain. I don’t think that is a fair summary of what’s going on this morning, actually.

“I think Labour’s setting out its vision and the Conservative Party is slinging mud and attacking this nonsensical idea of a super-majority, because they can’t defend their own record.

“They will just lie about Labour and they will lie about Labour’s plans. It’s time for the circus in Downing Street to come to an end and that can only happen if people vote Labour on Thursday.”

Reform’s chairman Richard Tice has clashed with BBC’s Nick Robinson on Radio 4’s Today programme.

Mr Tice was asked whether he wanted to do to the right in the UK what Marine Le Pen did to the far right in France.

He said: “You cannot reward failure and the Tories have broken Britain,” and added a “complete realignment of the right of politics” is needed.

Asked whether voters could be turned off by “violently extreme views from Reform candidates”, Mr Tice said: “Let me tell you, on the doors where I am campaigning support is absolutely rock solid like we have never known before.

“People are not buying into this absolute nonsense being perpetrated.”

The Post Office minister is “urgently” investigating delays to postal ballots.

Postal affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake has hit out at Royal Mail for not delivering in time the paper ballots for the general election.

Health minister Ms Caulfield told Sky News: “Kevin is taking this very seriously. He’s in direct contact with the Royal Mail.

“It doesn’t seem to be an issue in my constituency, but I know a number of colleagues where people haven’t received their postal votes and are worried about that.

“Kevin is investigating this urgently. I know there’s extra resources going into this to try and do a sweep of all the sorting offices and make sure they’re out there.

“If people have only just received their postal vote, they can take it to their polling station on election day and it will still be counted.”

Stephen Flynn has said he is “massively concerned” about many Scottish people not receiving their postal votes in time for the general election.

The SNP Westminster leader said many voters reported not receiving their ballot papers.

Local councils are responsible for sending postal ballot forms to voters. Completed postal votes must have reached councils by 10pm on polling day, July 4.

But the Electoral Management Board for Scotland said there have been “many difficulties experienced with the delivery of postal votes” across the country.

Mr Flynn hit out at Rishi Sunak for choosing the election date during Scotland’s school holidays and said voters now feel “disenfranchised” from the election.